VividRed Operation: More than Meets the Eye
by GAT-X105VividPanzer
Summary: A year has passed since the attack of the Alone...but a new threat arrives from another dimension. How will Akane and her friends deal with these new enemies? First fanfic, forgive me for any mistakes made. Advice/criticism is welcomed. -UNDER CONSTRUCTION; EDITING EARLY CHAPTERS-
1. Chapter 1

PROLOGUE

_Where…where am I?  
Why is it…dark?  
"Welcome. I have summoned you here for a purpose."  
Wha-who is that? Nobody summons me!  
"You have suffered defeat, death, at the hands of your enemy. I am here to help you."  
I don't need help!  
"On the contrary. Your forces are gone. You have fallen as well, by your mortal enemy's sword. I'd say you need help. I can give it back to you. The power, your forces…"  
"And what? What in exchange?"  
"Simple. Revenge."  
Revenge? So you will use me as your pawn? Such insolence! Nobody uses me!  
"I'd think you'd jump at the opportunity. Either you rot here, wallowing in despair…or I help you gain what you want. You working for me will only be a small price to pay."  
Very well. I shall serve you…_for now. Soon I will have you by your neck and you will give me what I want._ When do we start?_

CHAPTER 1

Blue Island-1 year later

Akane was driving her hoverbike, delivering her newspapers as usual. She was wearing her scarf, a memento from her friend, Rei, who has returned to her own world after the events a year ago. She paused a while, near the sea. Seagulls were flying about. _Rei would have loved this view,_ she thought. A small bird then landed on her bike. It was green, with some yellow. The bird flew again, and landed on the hand of someone else. Akane looked where it landed. "That…. It's Rei!"

Rei looked in Akane's direction. "Rei!" Akane had left her bike and had come running to her. _Well, she hasn't changed, after all this time…_ "Akane! I told you we'd see each other again, right? Well, here I am." Akane came and hugged her. "Rei! You've come back!" Rei smiled, then put her pet bird Piisuke down. "Here, you can have this back," said Akane, removing the scarf and giving it back to Rei. "Thanks."  
"We have to tell the others, get on!"  
"But I don't think that bike can fit two…"  
"Of course it can! Here…"  
Akane was too busy to notice Rei staring intently at the horizon.

-BLUE ISLAND MILITARY BASE-

The Colonel was bored. Sure, it was nice the Alone were gone, and there were no conflicts with other nations…but there was nothing to do. It was all routine patrols, day and night.  
"Sir?"  
The Colonel turned to the officer.  
"We got inbound unidentified aircraft, approaching."  
_Hmmm…  
_"Attention unidentified aircraft, you are approaching restricted military space. Leave now."  
No response.  
_I'll take that back, maybe there's some excitement tonight after all…  
_"Send Hartmann and Barkhorn, intercept that aircraft."

Barkhorn and Hartmann went out in their F-22 Raptors. "Base, this is Karsland-1. We have visual of the aircraft, it's a Sikorsky Pave-Low Helicopter."  
"Try contacting the aircraft again, Karsland-1."  
"Roger that. Unidentified aircraft, this is Karsland-1 from the Blue Island base. Please respond."  
She waited.  
"No response," Hartmann said to her partner.  
"Yeah. Base, this is Karsland-1, no response-hey wait, what is it doing?"

The helicopter shifted parts. The fuselage became the legs, the cockpit the arms. The back part split to reveal two arms, and the head appeared on top of the mass of metal, red eyes gleaming. "Whoah! Base this is Karsland-1, you have to check this out. Hartmann, back me up!"

"What in god's name…" the commander muttered.  
"Is that…" said a young soldier.  
"No, it's not Alone. But…. Contact Dr. Isshiki for me now!"

Well that's it for the first chapter. Thoughts will be most welcome.

Yes, Barkhorn, Hartmann, and their codename Karsland-1 is reference to Strike Witches.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Blackout watched in amusement as the human fighters readied their weapons. Although this was a new world, their weaponry was not that different from those employed in their former dimension, so he knew that what these jets had would not harm him.

"Fire!"  
The raptors fired missiles against their robotic foe. Blackout simply used his Rotor blade as a shield.

_My turn_, Blackout thought.  
He raised his Rotor, aiming to slice into two the nearest jet.

"Hartmann!"  
Barkhorn could do nothing to save her partner.  
However the slash was blocked by a red boomerang. "That is…"  
"Akane Isshiki at your service!" Akane has arrived at the battlefield.  
"You and your partner return to base," Akane said. "I'll handle this."

_A puny human…she shall be crushed like the rest,_ Blackout thought. He raised his rotor arm again, aiming for another strike. Akane blocked it with her boomerang and tried to parry the blow, but Blackout flew away while firing, forcing Akane to retreat.

'You're not getting my friend!" Rei was using her hoverbike-turned-jetpack with great effect, firing bullets nonstop at the giant robot.  
"Thanks Rei!" Akane said. "Now my turn!" She readied herself. "Naked rang!"  
Blackout raised his rotor, blocking the boomerang. However he was surprised at the force of the attack.  
_Impressive! But not good enough!  
_He fired, and Akane dodged. Meanwhile Rei kept pelting him with bullets.  
_This is getting tiresome,_ he thought. He readied his chest cannon. 

Akane was not able to move out in time. Rei was too far away. Fortunately Himawari arrived in the scene, accompanied with Wakaba and Aoi.  
"Nice party you have here," Wakaba said, holding her sword. "How come you didn't invite us?"  
"Guys! How did you get here?"  
"We were told by your grandfather," Aoi said.  
"You were reckless, going by just yourself," Himawari said.  
"With that out of the way, let's go beat this guy up!" Wakaba said.

_Reinforcements? Not in the battle plan. Time to retreat._ Blackout transformed into helicopter mode, moving faster than any normal helicopter to escape.

"Well, that was unexpected," Akane said.  
"Should we give chase?" Rei asked.  
"Too risky," Himawari said. "For now, let's head back."

BAYVERSE-2013  
Optimus Prime directed the reactivation of the space bridge. The autobots and their human allies from NEST were busy with the preparations. There were objections of course. The last time the bridge was used, a great disaster had almost befallen Earth. But Optimus had a vision from the Primes, which told him that there were more battles to come.

"Are you sure about this? " asked Lennox. He was a seasoned soldier who was one of the first who fought against the Decepticons.  
"Yes. We must get ready. Have you prepared your men?"  
"They're ready to go any minute now."  
"Very well. Ratchet, activate the space bridge!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Hawkflight7: Thanks for the review. I'll certainly try not to make future chapters not look like walls of text **

Blackout landed, transforming into his robot mode and kneeling before his master.  
"Good work , Blackout. Your data gathering was excellent. Now we have some idea of the combat capability of this world," Megatron said. He turned to his companion, who was cloaked into the shadows. Only its eyes were visible, glowing a dark shade of red. "But truly, I did not believe that the humans in this world have such an advanced system."  
"We must be more prepared now. It seems time did not decrease the skills of this world's warriors."  
"Indeed. I have sent some of my men for some information gathering…"

-BLUE ISLAND DEFENSE BASE, BRIEFING ROOM-

"What…is that?" Mizuha Amagi said, as she watched the video recovered from the battle.  
She looked at the other people in the room. Akane and Aoi were seated together, and Wakaba across them. Dr. Isshiki was standing, while Rei was at the back of the room, keeping silent. Himawari returned home, wanting to perform some analysis on the data.  
"It seems to be some advanced form of robot…."  
"Something like a mobile suit?" Amagi asked.  
"You can't be serious, that sort of tech hasn't made it past the prototype stage, and as far as I know all nations stopped research on that a long time ago."  
"Umm…" Akane mumbled.  
"Yes?" Kenjirou asked.  
"I don't think that robot is some sort of suit. It…it looked at me. It felt as if…it had a mind of its own."  
"Akane, that's crazy-"  
"But Dr. Isshiki, I felt it too," Aoi said. "It seems…alive."  
"Well, I guess if the Alone and a man-eating crow exist, then I see no reason why not," Amagi said.  
"Actually you're not far from the truth…I know what attacked us." Rei looked up.  
"You…do?" Dr. Isshiki said.  
"That-" she pointed at the screen- "is a Transformer. I was warned by the other beings that danger was coming in this world, and they told me beings called Transformers-mechanical creatures who could change shape."  
"And why are they doing this?" Amagi asked.  
Rei shrugged. "Who knows?"  
They were interrupted by a soldier who burst into the room. "We're detecting an energy source…it could be one of those things again!"

-SHINOMIYA RESIDENCE-  
"This data…will prove to be interesting," Himawari muttered to herself as she typed some figures. She was viewing data from the combat.

Behind her, a piece of equipment silently changed shape.

BEACH AREA-BLUE ISLAND

Dr. Isshiki and the Vividteam, with Amagi arrived at the site first. There was nothing around so far. They got down from the car. Rei looked at the sea.  
"I…I wont let this place become a battlefield," she said.  
Amagi looked around. "There's nothing here,"  
"And now there is," Akane said, as a huge portal appeared.  
Out of the portal came 4 vehicles-a truck, a camaro, a rescue vehicle and a silver sportscar. A soldier dismounted from the truck. The truck started to transform, it's parts shifting until it became a towering red and blue robot. It turned to face them. Akane's group stepped back. After the battle with the helicopter robot, they were not taking any chances. Akane held her key tightly.  
The robot spoke. "I am Optimus Prime."


	4. Chapter 4

**Hawkflight7: Thanks for the review. I intend the TF universe to be a parallel one to the Vividred universe. "Time" in chapter 3, refers to the fact that despite it's been a year since Akane and the others used the Vivid system, they're still pretty good at them.**

BLUE ISLAND BEACH

Lennox looked at the group that met them. At the front was an old man, and behind him were four your girls. A woman was hanging back at the car, phone in hand. Lennox got a bad feeling about that. He looked at Optimus. He wasn't sure what Optimus was driving at either. Why did he suddenly transform in front of these civilians?

"I am Optimus Prime," said the Autobot leader. The old man stepped forward. "Well, that was a relief," he said. "I thought the first thing you'll say is 'Take me to your leader.'" Lennox had to smile at that. "Rest assured we have no hostile intentions over this place. Around me is my team-" Optimus waved to the other Autobots, still in their alt modes- "And this is William Lennox, from NEST." Lennox stepped forward and shook the man's hand. "Like the big guy said. I'm Lennox." "My name is Dr. Kenjirou Isshiki," the old man said. "You could say I'm like the girl's supervisor." "Girls?"  
"I forgot. You clearly came from another dimension, am I right?"  
"Yes, we did," Optimus said. "We were went here, because I received a vision that our enemies, the Decepticons, are alive and well in this world."  
"Hmm…perhaps we already encountered them. Here-" Dr. Isshiki used a hologram projector to display the video of the battle.

"Holy…that's the guy that attacked our Qatar base a few years ago…he's alive?"Lennox said.  
"It seems our worst fears were confirmed then," Optimus said. "They're back.  
"Wait, what's this? You're using these girls to fight?" Lennox asked. He looked at the group again. _Christ, these girls are young enough to be my daughter or something._  
"Hey, were not just girls you know!"one of th em said. "We can handle ourselves."  
"Um, that is correct, we have weapons and abilities too," another added, the one with blue hair.  
"You must forgive my granddaughter, they were crucial to our previous victories," Dr. Isshiki said. "This is Akane," he said pointing to a red haired girl. "And this is Aoi," he said. the blue haired girl shyly raised her hand. "I'm Wakaba," said the green haired girl before the Dr. isshiki could introduce her. "And that one over there is Rei," Dr. Isshiki finished. Rei nodded.

Lennox was watching the video. "Whoah, this is high tech. You guys can even…combine, that's pretty advanced," he said.  
"Thanks," Dr. Isshiki said. "I developed the system."  
"Wait, who is this other girl, the one wearing yellow? And this system is great and all, but you built it to fight what?"  
"Ah, good question!" Dr. Isshiki said.  
"That's Himawari!" Akane said. "She's one of us, but she's doing something right now."  
"And to answer your question, I designed the system to fight the Alone, huge monsters who came and wanted to destroy us."  
"I guess even this world is not free from fighting," Optimus said.  
"Actually, the world mostly is free from fighting," Dr. Isshiki said. "Even now, we were at peace until the attacks."  
The woman who was talking to the phone finally approached the group. "Captain Lennox, I'm Mizuha Amagi of the JSDF. You and…your robot pals have to come with us."

SHINOMIYA RESIDENCE

Himawari was already deep into her work. The data she got was intriguing after all. She suddenly heard a sound from the back. She turned and suddenly a huge robot bird lunged at her.  
"You have something that we want," it hissed. "  
Himawari used her key and transformed. She had her weapon, the Naked Collider, ready.  
_Still, I can't shoot here… I might harm others_ she thought.  
"Well, you're not getting whatever it is you came here for," she said.  
"We already are," the robot said.  
Himawari noticed the movement behind her, and saw a spindly robot with four eyes connected to her CPU. It then looked at her, then scrambled away.  
"See?" the bird said. "I have to thank you for analyzing the data by the way. Saves the time. And now…"  
The bird lunged at her, pinning her to the ground.  
"This is the end!"

**-Okay, that was long. See you next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

CHAP5

SHINOMIYA REISDENCE

"This is the end!" the robot bird cried.  
Himawari was pinned to the floor, her arms and legs unable to move. Fortunately her weapons were not under the same restriction.  
"Think again. Naked Collider!"  
Two funnels ejected from her arm-mounted weapons, striking the bird and forcing it to lose hold of her. Himawari stood up.  
"Ah, you'll pay!" It charged again, and this time Himawari had no time to prepare.  
Suddenly the bird stopped, and saw that a green blade now protruded from its chest.

"That was close!" Wakaba said.  
"Wakaba…sorry my room is messy again," Himawari said, gesturing to the mess made by the fighting.  
"You can make jokes at at a time like this?" Wakaba said.  
"I guess not…that robot wanted data, and unfortunately they got what they wanted. Good thing I have backups ready."  
"Why not take this along?" Wakaba asked, gesturing at the dead body.  
"Good idea."

EN ROUTE MILITARY BASE

The convoy proceeded to the Military base, with Optimus Prime leading, and Bumblebee, Ratchet, Sideswipe and Mirage following him. Above a helicopter monitored their progress.

Akane was sitting with Lennox, both of them riding Optimus.  
"And that's the Manifestation engine, where we get all our energy!" Akane finished. She just gave Lennox a background on their world.  
"I see… you guys got some nice toys," Lennox commented.  
"Himawari won't like you commenting on the engine so lightly," Akane said. "She loves the engine."

Aoi and Rei rode in Ratchet. She sat in the hummer-turned-emergency vehicle. "So, what brought you into this conflict, young lady?" Ratchet asked.  
"I want...I want to protect everyone. This is the best way to do it," Aoi said.  
"A good dream, protecting everyone," Ratchet agreed. "But you can't save everyone. I should know-I'm a medic. I've seen good men die before my eyes."  
Rei nodded. She had lost a great deal too, back then.  
"But still you try! We can't just give up, can we?" Aoi said.  
"You have a point," Ratchet replied.

MILITARY BASE

Mizuha Amagi was in the room with Yuuri Shoujo, who was in charge of the Manifestation Engine.  
"I think these robot guys want the engine," Amagi said. "The data they downloaded from Himawari pertains to the Engine, and the attack of the Helicopter robot, identified as "Blackout," was directed at the Engine as well."  
"But what about the group that you met?" Shoujo asked.  
"We'll have to monitor them. They don't seem evil, but it pays to be cautious."

Himawari and Wakaba were in a makeshift lab in the base.  
"Well, this confirms it," Himawari said.  
"Confirms what?" Wakaba asked.  
"This thing," she said, pointing at the corpse, "is taking energy from the engine. The same way Alones do. And some of his energy signatures match those of the Alones. Seems like our fight with them is not done yet."  
"But who could be behind this?"  
"Don't know… the only one with this much power are those beings…the Crow maybe…"  
The phone ringed, so Wakaba took it. "Okay…" she answered. "The rest are here, let's show em what we got so far."

Optimus and the rest arrived at the base. Lennox, Akane, Aoi , Rei and Dr. Isshiki went to the lab where the body of the cybertronian was being kept.  
"Well, I'll be," Lennox said as he saw the corpse. "It's Laserbeak!"  
"Laserbeak?" Akane asked.  
"Nasty guy, used for stealth missions."  
"There was another one," Himawari said. "He was small and thin, with four blue eyes."  
"That's Frenzy… looks like our Decepticon buddies have been information gathering," Lennox said.

Outside, via holographic screens, the Autobots had a good view of the room.  
"Whoah, look at Laserbeak!" Mirage said.  
"Yeah," Sideswipe replied. "That sword carved him up real good…" he contacted the room. "Hey, sorry to interrupt but which one of you killed Laserbeak?"  
"That would be me," Wakaba replied.  
"I like your style. I'm a sword user myself," Sideswipe replied.

Inside the lab, Himawari talked to Dr. Isshiki, separating him from the others, who were poring over the dead robot.  
"Doctor, I think you should analyze this data," Himawari said, giving Dr. Isshiki a USB.  
"Hmm, what's this?"  
"It's very interesting. If you combine that data with what we have here, the implications are immense."  
"Very well then, I'll look into it."

OUTSIDE BASE  
A police car and a Mercedes Benz could be seen just outside the base. Using the abilities granted to them, they were able to escape detection. Behind them, three Chevy Suburbans lie in wait.  
"It is time," Barricade said.  
"Begin Operation Stagger," Soundwave said.  
Ravage and Frenzy deployed and made their way through the base.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAP6

LAB-MILITARY BASE  
"This thing is powered similarly like the Alone?" Dr. Isshiki asked.  
"Yes, if you consider that fact…"  
"Wait, so whatever revived the Decepticons is the same thing that the Alones use for energy… so the Decepticon's revival could be whoever was behind the Alone attacks before," Lennox said.  
There was an uncomfortable silence in the room.  
"Well, we haven't really told you the whole story, but…" Akane said.  
"I was the one who gave strength to the Alone, forced by a being called the Crow," Rei said.  
"Oh. But Obviously you switched sides… so this has nothing to do with you right?" Lennox replied.  
'Actually there may be… I received a vision from the "Other Beings," who tested us before if we were worthy of the Engine. They said to me that a danger was coming, and that help was coming. I guess you're the help, and the Decepticons are the danger." 

"Indeed we are," Soundwave said, using Ravage to speak to the humans, as the sleek black cat landed into the room with Frenzy. The armed guards in the room instantly raised their rifles but Frenzy silenced them with well-aimed disk throws. Ravage scanned the room, and Soundwave was able to identify the human soldier, Lennox. He was already contacting his men outside. Of course they would be too busy to respond…  
"It seems you have been acquainted with my pet Laserbeak," Soundwave said. "I guess it's time for you to meet this one, Ravage. "  
One of them, the one whom they assaulted, spoke up. "What do you want?"  
"Why, we want the engine of course. And you stand in our way. So you perish."

OUTSIDE

Soundwave left Ravage to his own devices after that, trusting his pet to take out the humans. Right now there were more pressing matters at hand. "Let's go," he said. And the Mercedes Benz and Police car shifted forms, revealing Soundwave and Barricade's robot forms.

Three Chevy Suburbans approached the base at breakneck speed.  
"Optimus!" Ratchet said as he readied his EMP gun.  
"Decepticons! Autobots, protect this base!" Optimus held his Energon Sword and shield in his hand.  
The lead Chevy, Crankcase, transformed into his robot mode while in flight. NEST soldiers opened fire at him, supported by Mirage.  
Crankcase slashed at Mirage, but Mirage dodged it, countering with his cannon. "You're good, punk!" Mirage said as he squared off with the Decepticon.  
Again Crankcase striked, but this time his attack was stopped by Sideswipe, who sliced off his arm. The Decepticon backed away, clutching his arm. Sideswipe blocked the Decepticon's path.

Crowbar was being engaged by human soldiers, backed up by Ratchet.  
"Concentrate your fire, use Sabot rounds if you have them," the NEST soldiers were saying to the JSDF soldiers who were joining the fray.  
When a shot from the soldiers blew one of his tires, Crowbar shifted forms, turning into a robot and firing his weapons instantly. The humans scrambled for cover.

Soundwave and Barriacde led the assault.  
"Optimus!" Soundwave said. "Now you fall. And I will take your head as a trophy."  
"The only one who'll be taking trophies is me, Soundwave," Optimus said as he charged, slashing Soundwave with his sword. Soundwave dodged and fired his cannon. Optimus raised his shield.

"So we meet again," Barricade said.  
Bumblebee remained silent.  
"The silent treatment huh?" Barricade let out a punch. Bumblebee dodged, and punched Barricade. The attack hit, sending Barricade backward. "Time to get serious," Barricade said as he deployed his blade weapon.

LAB  
Lennox was without weapons. _Not good,_ he thought. Nevertheless he pulled Dr. Isshiki behind him.  
Ravage fired his cannon.  
Himawari transformed, and used her naked collider to block the shot. She then returned fire, using the funnels to target the robotic cat. Ravage dodged, the beams hitting various equipment instead. Manwhile, Frenzy charged, firing his discs as he he approached the group. Aoi blocked his shots using her Naked Impact, sending them back to him. Frenzy was unable to dodge his own discs. One of them hit, beheading him. "Not Again…." Said the spindly robot before he died.

"Go outside," Himawari said as she exchanged fire with Ravage inside the lab. "I can handle this cat."  
Rei brabbed the guns from the fallen guards, giving one to Lennox. The soldier looked at her with surprise then accepted the weapon.  
"Okay," Akane said. "But we'll return. I promise!"  
Himawari smiled. "Of course you'd say that. I'm counting on you."

OUTSIDE

Mirage and Sideswipe were pretty confident that they had Crankcase cornered. "And now for the final blow," Mirage said as he readied his cannon. He never got to fire, as a cannon shot hit him in the chest, killing him instantly. It was Hatchet. Unlike his fellow Dreads, Hatchet has a four-legged form like Ravage. "Mirage, no!"

Optimus saw it happen out of the corner of his eye. However he and Bumblebee were too busy trading blows with Soundwave and Barricade respectively. "One of yours fall, Optimus. Pity I was not the one who took him out though. I never liked him."

Ratchet saw it, and he remembered the earlier conversation with Rei and Aoi. _You can't protect everyone._ His words echoed back to him cruelly.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAP7

Akane's group arrived just in time to see Mirage fall. "Are we…too late?" Wakaba asked.  
They say Ratchet abandon his post and charge blindly into the Dreads. "No, Ratchet!" Aoi said.

Sideswipe can't believe it. His comrade Mirage had fallen. "Payback," he said, charging Crankcase and stabbing him. Ratchet joined in the fray, firing several blasts from his EMP gun that send Hatchet fleeing. However both of them noticed more Suburbans arriving. Both of them know it's backup...but not for them.

LAB  
Lennox and Rei engaged Ravage in a running battle, trying to distract him while Himawari moved in for the kill. They left Dr. Isshiki behind, seeing as he won't be much help in the battle. The fight took them from the labs into the corridors of the base, Ravage always behind them.  
"Damn, damn, damn," Lennox said. "Our shots aren't doing any good…we need to have sabot rounds to really do some damage."  
Himawari floated beside them, blocking another of Ravage's shots.

OUTSIDE

The Dreads transformed, bombarding Ratchet and Sideswipe with weaponsfire.  
Aoi was about to charge, but Wakaba held her sword, blocking Aoi. "Wait! We might get caught in the crossfire," Wakaba said. "if only Himawari was here…"  
"We have to make do," Akane said. "Lets go, we just have to be more careful."

Barricade used his spinning mace to great effect, the spiked barbs injuring Bumblebee. "Remember back then? That bastard Soundwave denied me the honor of killing you. Now you're all mine, and maybe I'll make your death real slow and painful. What do you think?"  
Bumblebee flipped on his battle helmet and charged.

Human soldiers were already mobilizing from the base, helping the NEST soldiers. The Vividteam joined the fray as well, using their weapons to disable the Dreads.

Optimus slashed at Soundwave, but the decepticon was surprisingly agile, dodging his every blow. Then he suddenly performed a low kick, catching Soundwave off-guard. Optimus pointed his sword at Soundwave's neck.

"It's over, Soundwave," Optimus said.  
Soundwave sneered. "You know better than that, Optimus," Soundwave said.  
"Optimus watch out!" Akane said.  
Optimus turned and suddenly manifested a huge axe, which he used to slice in half the Dread who was going to ambush him in half. Optimus paused slightly, staring at the new weapon, then pointed it to Soundwave. "You were saying?"

Barricade was having the time of his life. He had been given new strength, and he used it to overwhelm his rival. "is that all you got, Autobot?" He sneered. "It's a shame you're going down so easily!" He sliced at Bumblebee's armor, hearing the satisfying sound of the spikes grinding against his foe. Suddenly he was attacked from behind. He turned. It was one of the humans! "I won't allow you to hurt our allies!" she said. She held her hammer. _Ha, I'll show you your place,_ he thought. Then he realized his mistake. Bumblebee shot him in the back, hitting his spark.

"Barricade's down!" Sideswipe said encouragingly. He fought alongside Wakaba, both of them slicing any Dreads that come. Ratchet fired more of his EMP blaster. He noticed that the Dreads were retreating, and even Soundwave was trying to escape, firing shots to cover himself."They're pulling back! Is it because of Optimus's new weapon?"  
"Heh. That's Soundwave for you. Does not like to take unnecessary risks."  
"Shall we pursue?"  
"I don't think so, Ratchet…we need to aid in the wounded in this base."

Meanwhile inside the Lab…  
Dr. Isshiki was typing furiously in the computer. Using the security cameras, he got a good view of what was happening-and was hard at work analyzing it. He used the data that Himawari got. "She really is something, my apprentice is," he muttered to himself. Unknown to him, Laserbeak lies in disguise, not aiming to kill-but this time to gain information.

"Go, go, go!" Lennox said, firing a couple of rounds at Ravage as he and Rei charged at Ravage. Himawari then attacked from behind, trapping Ravage in an array of beams, killing him instantly. "That was fun" Lennox said. "Haven't done that in a while."  
"Yeah, while we were out having fun, your buddies outside-" Rei countered.  
"-They'd be fine," Lennox said. He contacted his men. "Yeah…we're fine…what? Okay, okay.. roger that."  
He looked at the others. "I lost an Autobot out there. The Decepticons seem to be retreating though., let's go outside."


	8. Chapter 8

CHAP8

Lennox supervised the clean-up. The Autobots were moving the bodies into one huge pile, except for Mirage's. He was going to get a proper burial. Soldiers were helping the wounded. He looked at Optimus, who was in conversation with Ratchet, Dr. Isshiki and Himawari.

"I honestly don't know," the Autobot leader said.  
"When you activated the weapon, it seems to be taking it's power from the Incarnate Engine.," Dr. Isshiki explained. "I'm curious as to how you were able to access it."  
"I think our technology-this Engine of yours, and our Cybertronian weaponry-may be more compatible than we thought," Ratchet said.  
"Well, this fits my hypothesis," Himawari said.  
"Ah yes! You see, my brilliant protégé has thought of a theory which explains this…"

Mizuha Amagi walked towards Lennox. "Wow. What a mess."  
"You weren't prepared, we were no better when we first fought them."  
"Ms. Shijou will be arriving soon…she'll want to talk to you."  
"Okay. She's the one who heads this place?"  
"Not really, she's in charge of protecting the engine."  
"She'll probably want a lot of explanations."

Rei approached Akane. "Hey."  
"Oh, Rei! Are you okay?"  
"Yeah, just had a little trouble fighting off that robot bird."  
"How are we going to stop…stop them?"  
"I don't know. I do know, however, that we'll need their help," and she pointed to Optimus. "But I sometimes worry…what if we lose?"  
"Of course not!" Akane said. "We have each other, don't we? Together we can defeat any evil that comes our way!"

"You see, calculating the-"  
Himawari noticed the urgent faces of those listening to her.  
"uh…okay, cutting all that technical stuff. I believe…"

DECEPTICON BASE  
"…That their Engine and our tech are related?"  
"Yes, Lord Megatron," said Shockwave. The Decepticon scientist was kneeling, while Megatron was sitting on his throne. "That is why Prime was able to access that weapon. It was powered by the Engine."  
Megatron turned to the shadows. "You. You knew this, didn't you?"  
The female voice responded. "Of course. Why did you think I was able to revive you all? It is only through the connection of the Engine and Cybertronian tech that I was able to achieve that."  
"And yet you didn't tell us! Look here, the only reason I'm not ripping you apart is because I want revenge against Prime, and you claim to have a means to do that. Now if you keep hiding information, I will personally guarantee your death."  
Suddenly Megatron was down on the floor with pain. "Lord Megatron!" Shockwave came forward to help the Decepticon Leader.  
"You will not disrespect me like that. You will not question my plans. I hold power over you. Even if I'm still weak, it is enough for me to make you suffer. Do I make myself clear?"  
"Yes…."

MILITARY BASE  
HImawari had called everyone together. They were in the center of the base, with the Autobots in vehicle mode. Amagi and Lennox stood to one side, Akane and Rei at the center, leaning on Optimus. Wakaba sat on Sideswipe's hood. Dr. Isshiki looked on expectantly. NEST and JSDF soldiers, those who weren't busy tending to the wounded, were there.  
"I wasn't expecting a large audience," Himawari said.  
"Just go on, Himawari," Wakaba said. "We're all ears."  
"Just like I discussed earlier, Cybertronian tech and our own Incarnate Engine are related. I have done some analysis of the data I acquired from our friends Laserbeak and Ravage helped me. Dr. Isshiki developed the most important part though."  
"Couldn't have done it without your data though," Dr. Isshiki said. "You see, I got the information about how to build the Engine from the Other beings, those who the Crow said was giving her orders. It seemed they gave us the Engine and wanted to see if we can handle its power. Now I've been wondering about the origin of the other Beings. According to Optimus, there were legendary beings-Primes-who sacrificed themselves to save Earth. Now what if the Primes are actually the other Beings?"  
"It would explain why…. The Beings knew of the Transformers," Rei said. "Because they were once Transformers themselves."  
"I understand this may be difficult for you," Himawari said at Optimus.  
"No, it's alright," Optimus said. "But this is a revelation to us."  
At that, a helicopter sound can be heard.  
"Well," said Amagi. "Looks like Yuri Shijou is here."

-_  
Done with Chapter 8! I know the past few chapters haven't been very good. It is the first time I've tried to write combat like that, I guess I still have to improve. For those who read this fic-don't worry, I plan to continue this to the end. I have the entire storyline plotted in my head already….


	9. Chapter 9

Amagi saluted as Yuri Shijou made her way towards them. Lennox followed suit, along with the rest of his men. Once Shijou arrived, she told them to put down their hands. "At ease. And," she said, looking at Lennox, "You must be one of the soldiers who arrived from another dimension. My my, what a mess we have here, don't you think?"  
"It wasn't really bad for your first real battle against the Decepticons," Lennox said. He nodded at the girls, who were with the car mode autobots. "They more than did their part too."  
"Ah yes, our girls," Yuri Shijou said. "They were instrumental in defeating the Alone-I hope that now, they can help us too."  
Optimus chose that moment to transform, turning into his robot mode. "Do not worry," Optimus said. "If what Himawari was saying was right, then they may be the one the keys to help us overcome this."  
Shijou gave Amagi a questioning look.  
Amagi nodded. We'll explain later," she said.  
"I am Optimus Prime, the commander of the Autobots," the Autobot leader continued. "It is our pleasure to fight alongside your men."  
"Same here," Yuri Shijou replied. "What are we going to do now?"  
"I'm going to send the Autobots on patrol," Lennox said. "I'll leave the girls here.. For now however, its' clean up time."  
Akane approached them. "Hey, we heard that!" she said. "We can still fight!"  
"Yes, but you and me, we're not Cybertronian," Lennox said. You must be tired; use this opportunity to get some rest here."  
"I agree," Rei said. "I don't think the enemy will attack so soon… not when we have struck a blow to their forces. I believe one of their strong members got killed, correct?"  
"Barricade, yes," Lennox said. "Plus, they'd probably be cautious. There's this new weapon we have, which we ourselves do not have much knowledge of."  
"I'll stay here," Optimus said. "Just in case."

-DECEPTICON BASE-  
"We will still push through," a voice said.  
"Very well," Megatron replied. "I will lead the assault on the Engine. Shockwave!"  
At once the silent scientist appeared. "Is the device ready?"  
"Of course my lord. I only await your command."  
"Good," Megatron said. "Our fallen comrades will be avenged. This world will be ours."  
"But what about the humans?" asked the voice by his side.  
"They are of no consequence. Whatever abilities they might have, they will fall before us. Finally, we will grasp victory! Prime will fall tonight!" 

_I have to escape._  
Hidden in the Decepticon base, he had taken great care not to announce his presence. Being ancient was probably an advantage. He was not sensed by the guards that patrolled the base. He did not know why he had been revived. Perhaps the one who did so was no aware of his treachery to the Decepticons.  
_I have to let the Autobots know of the Decepticon's plan._  
He readied his thrusters. Soon, rising from the base was an SR-71Blackbird. Jetfire has returned, and he'll make sure the Decepticons won't have their way.

Response to review:  
Exodia geass8910:  
Yes, I know they're short. I'm not very used to writing long stuff; I think I got that from the way I write essays at school-short and straight to the point. Such a style may not fit a fiction however, so I will try to add more details in the coming chapters. This applies for both Vividred and Gundam Age: The Lost Logia. As for this story crossing over other universes, I'm thinking of it; however I'm not familiar with Mass Effect and Halo so I don't think they'll be joining the fun anytime soon.


	10. Chapter 10

MILITARY BASE  
The vivdteam decided to use their break to eat in the base's mess hall.  
They decided to eat an early dinner. Akane was returning to their seat, looking glum.  
"What is it" Aoi asked.  
"They don't have any mayo!"  
"No problem." Rei tossed her a pack of mayonnaise. "It's small but it should do."  
"Wow, thanks Rei! You're a life saver."  
Akane settled in her seat. They ate in silence for a while.  
"So, Rei, how's life back in your world?" Aoi asked.  
"Fine as it could be," Rei said. "Although I do miss you guys-it feels strange, I mean I haven't really spent any time with you, but thanks to the docking process I've gotten to know you. And I knew that we'd be friends."  
"Well, now we're all here," Akane said. "So after we defeat the Decepticons, how about a day off together? Us five."  
"Sounds great," Wakaba said.  
"Sure," Himawari replied.  
"Of course," Aoi added. "Where should we go then?"  
"I was thinking of winging it," Akane said, laughing a bit.  
Rei smiled. Akane had a laugh like that-cheerful. It was rather infectious.  
Suddenly an alarm blared.  
"Aww, what now?" Akane asked.

Optimus looked out to the sky. He could see the jet clearly. Unfortunately the human detection systems detected him first.  
"Stop the alarm," he said.  
It took a minute, but finally the alarm ceased ringing. The vividteam was running out. "What happened?"  
Lennox and his men were also out. "Hey, isn't that…"  
Optimus nodded as the SR-71 blackbird landed and transformed into the aging robot Jetfire.  
"I thought you had died," Optimus said.  
"I do not know why I was brought back either. Perhaps a mistake. I came to inform you of the Decepticon's plans. They plan to assault the engine of this world tonight."  
"_Tonight?_ That's soon!" Lennox immediately ordered his men to contact the Autobots who were out in the field.

Bumblebee noticed the black suburban that had been trailing him for some time now. Yet he couldn't engage it-not in the city. Finally they were near the beach. Bumblebee transformed, his plasma cannon ready. The Dread followed suit. It cackled, a high-pitched laugh. Then Bumblebee noticed the sounds behind him. 5 more Dreads were in the scene. "Houston, we've got a problem."

"What? You're being suppressed by Decepticon fire?" Lennox said.  
He looked at the rest. "That was Ratchet… they're all engaged against Dreads."  
"So it's just us?" Akane asked.  
"Apparently so. I'm sorry, it's my fault. I suggested the splitting up-"  
"You must not dwell on the past, human," Jetfire said, leaning on his cane. "We can fight. You have Optimus and me."  
"I can use the new weapon as well," Optimus said. He materialized the energy axe. "I've been practicing with it."  
Lennox nodded. It was time for a game plan.  
Jetfire was impressed with the weapon. "That won't be enough, they'll be going at full force. If I sacrifice myself again…"  
"What?" Aoi asked. "Sacrifice?"  
"You see, Jetfire sacrificed himself last time, so Optimus can use his parts for armor. Although Optimus has created a trailer version of that, it was under maintenance and wasn't ready by the time of this trip."  
"Like combination then?" Akane asked.  
"You could say so, yeah."  
"Then I have an idea!" Dr. Isshiki said.  
"Where did you come from?" Himawari asked.  
"Well, I was working on something. And you two say combine? Well, I can fix something up that won't require any sacrifices!"  
"We don't have much time, scientist," Jetfire said.  
"That's alright, I can do this quickly! Come Himawari, I need your help here…."

Later that night, the soldiers had set up defensive positions around the Engine. Optimus and Jetfire were in the front. The vividteam will serve as air support, with some fighter jets.  
"I've contacted the rest of the Autobots, they've gotten together and were able to repel the Dreads," Lennox said. "They'll come here, although some of the Dreads still attack them. Might take a while."  
"We make our stand here then," Optimus said.  
"I'm counting on you, Himawari," Akane said.  
Himawari nodded. Her ranged and shielding capabilities will come in handy. She'll form Vividyellow if necessary.  
The rest of them readied their weapons.  
Optimus detected them before the sensors did.  
"They're coming."


End file.
